) , planet = , weapon = , battles = , artifacts = , animals = , symbol = , adherents = , height = , age = , tree = , day = , color = , number = , consorts = * Laikhurembi * Lainaotabi * Thongak Lairembi * Khamnung Kikoi Louonbi , parents = , siblings = Poireiton , offspring = , predecessor = , successor = , army = , mount = , texts = * Poireiton Khunthok * Nongban Pombi Luwaoba , gender = Male , Greek_equivalent =

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, Roman_equivalent =

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest k ...

, Etruscan_equivalent = , Christian_equivalent = , Slavic_equivalent = , Hinduism_equivalent =

Yama Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities ...

, Canaanite_equivalent = , equivalent1_type = , equivalent1 = , equivalent2_type = , equivalent2 = , region =

Ancient Kangleipak The Manipur Kingdom was an ancient independent kingdom at the India–Burma frontier that was in subsidiary alliance with British India from 1824, and became a princely state in 1891. It bordered Assam Province in the west and Britis ...

(Antique Manipur) , ethnic_group =

Meitei ethnicity The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

, festivals =

Lai Haraoba Lai Haraoba is a festival associated with the Meitei people celebrated to please the Umang Lai, the traditional deities of Sanamahism. Translated, Lai Haraoba means ''merry making of the Gods'' in Meiteilon. In this festival, the people worshi ...

Thongalen (also, Thongalel, Thongaren or Thongarel) is the god of the dead and the king of the

underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld ...

( mni, Khamnung) in

Meitei mythology Meitei mythology or Manipuri mythology ( mni, Meitei Mi Lai Tingi Wari) is a collection of myths, belonging to the religious and cultural traditions of the Meitei people, the predominant ethnic group of Manipur. It is associated with tradit ...

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural ...

(Antique Manipur). He is the Guardian God of the

nadir The nadir (, ; ar, نظير, naẓīr, counterpart) is the direction pointing directly ''below'' a particular location; that is, it is one of two vertical directions at a specified location, orthogonal to a horizontal flat surface. The direc ...

. The

( mni, Khamnung), which is the land of death, has ''Khamnung Sawa'' as its capital in

. He is the ancestor-God of the Khuman clan of

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

. Laikhurembi and Lainaotabi are his wives. The ''Pakhangba Nonggarol'' ( omp, Pakhangpa Nongkalol) text says the God of death is called ''"Leinung Thongarel"'' ( omp, Leinung Thongalel).

Mythology

In the Poireiton Khunthok

King Thongaren ( omp, Thongalen) asked his highest ranked Queen Laikhurembi ( omp, Laikhulempi) to go with his brother Chingkhong Poireiton on a long trip. Poireiton was a

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can ...

; his wife had died, and he had six children to raise and also had to go to the Tai Pang Pan. King Thongalel thought his brother needed a wife to go with him on their trip. However, Queen Laikhurembi did not want to go. She said she was already the king's wife. Trees had already been planted in her honor because she and the king had lived together for a very long time. So, instead of Queen Laikhurembi, King Thongalel sent his second wife, Leinaotabi, to go with Poireiton and be his wife.

In the Pombi Luwaoba

Nongban Pombi Luwaoba was a prince in the

Luwang Luwang is one of the seven clans of the Meitei people. Luwang consists of several Yumnaks which are native peoples of ancient Kangleipak (now Manipur), one of the States of India. Origin Luwang was the son of Iputhou Pakhangba also known as K ...

dynasty. Prince Nongban Pombi Luwaoba and his wife Namoinu were happy. Then she died suddenly. She died because of the God Thongalel. Prince Pombi Luwaoba refused to perform the funeral of her dead body. He hoped the God Thongalel would send her

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

back into her body so she would be alive again. God Thongalel received a message from the prince through a

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

bird. The message said that Prince Nongban Pombi Luwaoba was ready to fight God Thongalel if he did not send Namoinu's soul back. This made the God Thongalel angry. He sent two of his brothers, but Prince Nongban Pombi Luwaoba beat them both. He took them prisoner. Prince Nongban Pombi Luwaoba sent the pheasant bird with another message to God Thongalel. The message said that if the God wanted to get back his brothers alive, then he had to sent back the soul of Namoinu to her body. Finally, God Thongalel came to meet Prince Pombi Luwaoba himself. But instead of fighting, the prince prayed to the God Himself. God Thongalel was happy that Prince Nongban Pombi Luwaoba showed him respect. Thongalel brought Namoinu back to life. He also gave her a gift: She would live for 100 years and have 100 sons.

Hymns

The Meitei people in ancient times, worshipped the deity along with a hymn, which reads as follows:-

Texts

* According to ancient Meitei chronicle "Poireiton Khunthok", a band of colonists led by Poireiton came from the land of death, whose king was Lord Thongaren. * According to ancient Meitei chronicle "Nongban Pombi Luwaoba", there was a conflict between Nongban Pombi Luwaoba and a messenger of Thongaren and subsequent reconciliation with Lord Thongaren himself.

Association with other deities

God Thongalen is sometimes identified as God Wangpurel ( omp, Wangpulel). Thongalen is the King of underworld. Wangpurel reigns over the direction south. Some

Meiteis The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

believe that the direction south is the land of death. So, when the

got converted into

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...

, both Thongalen and Wangpulel became counterparts of Hindu God

References

{{Sanamahi1 Arts deities Arts gods Death deities Death gods Fortune deities Fortune gods Justice deities Justice gods Kings in Meitei mythology Life-death-rebirth deities Life-death-rebirth gods Liminal deities Liminal gods Love and lust deities Love and lust gods Magic deities Magic gods Maintenance deities Maintenance gods Meitei gods and goddesses Names of God in Sanamahism Nature deities Nature gods Ningthou Peace deities Peace gods Savior deities Savior gods Time and fate deities Time and fate gods Underworld deities Underworld gods